There Won’t Be a New Xbox in 2012, Microsoft Says

Microsoft has officially confirmed that it won’t be releasing a new Xbox console this year, with one of its French executives confirming that the lifecycle of the Xbox 360 is far from over.

The current Xbox 360 console is showing its age, as opposed to its biggest rival, the PlayStation 3. We’ve seen fewer and fewer exclusive games, while Microsoft itself is now promoting the console as more of an entertainment device, rather than a hardcore gaming one.

Despite this increased age, the console is still going strong in terms of sales, and Microsoft has now confirmed that its lifecycle hasn’t neared its end, so fans won’t see a new device anytime soon.

According to Microsoft France Marketing Director, Cedrick Delmas, the “cycle of the Xbox 360 is by no means complete,” and “there will be nothing new in 2012.”

What’s more, the executive says, the Nintendo Wii U won’t make Microsoft quicken the release of its next device, the oft-rumored Xbox 360.

“We are not here to deal with Nintendo and they are not there to fight against other manufacturers. Nintendo has placed itself in a different cycle, they advance at their own pace, successfully as we have seen with the Wii, and now it is their turn to present their innovation,” Delmas told Lepoint.fr.

This is the first actual confirmation from Microsoft in regards to its next Xbox, as after each of the new rumors that appeared recently, the company posted a formal “we do not comment on rumors and speculation.”

We’ve recently heard quite a lot of rumors about the device, however, some hinting at its hardware configuration, which is several times more powerful than the current Xbox 360, while others speculated on its features, with things like a Blu-ray drive or a system that wouldn’t allow used games to be played on it.

Considering these statements from Delmas, however, it seems that predictions concerning a 2013 release of the next Xbox might come true.